I’ll be backbefore you know it.
Hah!
A rogue’s words to an unsuspecting girl right after he ravishes her! Alyssia paced the room. Everything was all right, wasn’t it? How long had he been gone? Fifteen seconds? Twenty? She should go after him, shouldn’t she? After all, surely they were overreacting. Every noise would sound like danger if danger was somewhat expected.
This was all so vexing.
She should have said fifteen seconds and not minutes. No, she shouldn’t have given in so easily to begin with. The worry in his eyes, however, had prevented her from insisting. The consequence?Shewas the one with the worry! Perhaps she’d taken his return too lightly. He’d lost parents to his uncle’s greed, but she hadn’t lived it, was perhaps too far removed to consider the dangers seriously.
Or too preoccupied with yourself.
Selfish.
Yes, she’d been selfish. And the man had been willing to make haste with his revenge for her. Even though he’d said it was for them, the fact remained, had she not been in the picture, things would haveunfolded differently.
That’s right.
Shewas in the picture.
They were a partnership.
She couldn’t allow him to face any investigation alone from now on. She wanted to stand by his side, danger or not.
A sudden crash ripped through the house, causing Alyssia to jump.
Giles!
She didn’t hesitate. She bolted from the room. That she could hardly see didn’t matter—she would fight her way through the dark if she had to. Her feet flew across the corridor as she gathered Giles’s robe with one hand, the other braced against the wall to keep her balance. Every nerve screamed at her to hurry. Another crash shuddered up the walls, sharp enough to jolt her spine.
“Giles!” she called in a panic.
She took the stairs too fast, nearly slipping, catching herself with a gasp. Her heart lodged somewhere near her throat. Voices met her ears—ragged and furious. One was unmistakably his. Relief flared, only to be smothered by fear.
He was fighting someone!
Alyssia reached the bottom of the staircase, her pulse as wild as a hunted fox’s. She darted toward the drawing room, only to nearly stumble at the appearance of the butler and a panicked footman. “Fetch help! Bow Street and Knoxley!” she cried.
The men snatched their coats and tore open the front door and vanished into the night. She, on the other hand, burst into the drawing room, greeted by the sight of Giles and a mountain of a man, a blur of fists on the ground. Even she knew not to get between two men trading blows. Her gaze caught on another man, crawling into the room from the window.
“Alyssia! Get out of herenow!”
Not on your life, Giles!She searched for something she could use as aweapon when her gaze landed on a small but sturdy Greek statue of Adonis. She snatched up the thing and rushed over to the intruder and struck at his head.
He blocked her attempt, cursing, and managed to get one leg over the windowsill. She couldn’t allow him to enter. Honestly, the fact that he struggled to even enter when the other mountain of a man had managed gave her confidence over her opponent.
“Take that!” she hissed, her heart pounding like a battle drum. She swung the statue wildly, attempting to drive him back through the window. “Get out of this house!”
“Damn it, Alyssia! Get out!”
“No!” she called back and hit the man again.
Unfortunately, the man did not crumple, but the curses turned more vicious, and the pain, it seemed, only made him angrier. With a roar, he twisted his body, hauling himself forward with a savage burst of strength.
She swung at him again, but her blow of defense only grazed his shoulder.
“Alyssia!”
In hindsight, she shouldn’t have sent the servants away.
